Fructose

law allowed compulsory purchase of land for it, and water could be taken from whatever source;
workers were also bound to the industry by law and were free from arrest during the season when
the refineries were working." says Smith's "A History of Sicily. "
Spain, in 1416, had taken over Sicily and was determined to make it pay. How? With sugar production
and exports to Northern Europe, of course! During the 42 years following the accession of Alfonso
in 1416, "On one occasion Alfonso personally seems to have cornered the market in sugar exports
to Flanders," Smith tells us. So even with a change in leadership in Sicily, sugar exports only grew.
Now the Northern coast cities seem to be regular customers. English recipes demonstrate how
much sugar was flowing North.
England, 15th century. Pears in wine and spices Original recipe from Harleian MS 279. "Potage
Dyvers" Perys en Composte. Take Wyne an Canel, a gret dele of Whyte Sugre, an set it on the
fyre, hete it hote, but let it nowt boyle, an draw it thorwe a straynoure; than take fayre Datys, an
pyke owt the stonys, an leche hem alle thinne, an caste ther-to; thanne take Wardonys, an pare
hem and sethe hem, an leche hem alle thinne, caste ther-to in-to the Syryppe; thanne take a lytil
Sawnderys, and caste ther-to, an sette it on the fyre; an yif thow hast charde quynce, caste ther-to
in the boyling, an loke that it stonde wyl with Sugre, an wyl lyid wyth Canel, an caste Salt ther-to,
an let it boyle; an than caste yt on a treen vessel, lat it kele, and serue forth
If "a gret dele of Whyte Sugre" was used, it can hardly have been THAT rare or expensive. The
fourteenth century manuscript quoted below specifies two pounds sugar! of Original recipe from
"Goud Kokery":
5. Potus ypocras. Take a half lb. of canel tried; of gyngyuer tried, a half lb.; of greynes, iii unce; of
longe peper, iii unce; of clowis, ii unce; of notemugges, ii unce ∓ a half; of carewey, ii unce; of
spikenard, a half unce; of galyngale, ii unce; of sugir, ii lb. Si deficiat sugir, take a potel of honey.
Although the 'Si deficiat sugir, take a potel of honey' is often adduced to indicate sugar shortage, I
would point out that possible substitutions for elements of a recipe were common, and were not
neccesarily related to the scarcity of the items mentioned. (for instance, if you don't happen to
have flour to thicken a chicken sauce, says one recipe, you can use eggs to thicken it instead. This
didn't mean that flour was less common than eggs!)
Other Sugar Producing Sites
American historical groups. Do-it-yourself pioneers in America produced some really bad sugars
in an effort to be self sufficient, but that should not be projected to our thoughts about Medieval
times where industrial production and transport was common. Though some bought the cheaper
loaf and saved money by grinding it themselves, powdered sugar was common, and the quality
was high.
In 1470 AD, there was a "Society for the Refining of Sugars" in Bologna, which even the wealthy
thought worth attending. It was NOT just the industry traders in luxuries, but a large portion of the
wealthy had sugar growing on their estates.
In 1493 AD, Columbus carried sugar cane from the Canaries to Santa Domingo, and by the mid-
1500's it's manufacture had spread over the greater part of Tropical America.
In 1492 Christopher Columbus stopped at the Canary Islands on his famous journey, for rest and
provisions for a few days, but ended up staying a month. When he finally left he was given cuttings
of sugar cane which became the first to reach the New World. But with sugar cane he brought
death and slavery.
Therefore much later Sugar Cane came to be cultivated in the New World, and as a side effect
became multi-sourced particularly due to British Colonial policies (you see how this all links up
now) and influence throughout the geographical coverage of the empire in the mid 1600s to mid
1700s. This is really the key point along the timeline where sugar, outside Asia, became commonly
available and no longer a rare indulgence of the wealthy.
Notably, this was also closely linked to the international slave trade - African slaves became the
dominant plantation workers in North America, partly because they turned out to be naturally
resistant to Yellow Fever and Malaria, and as a result the British imported over 4 million slaves
to the West Indies. At this point (the mid to late 1700s) the Caribbean was the world’s largest
producer of sugar, and due to high death rates anyway on sugar plantations, there were only
400,000 African people left alive in the West Indies by the time slavery ended.
In the 1400 's AD, plantations were extablished in Madeira, the Canary Islands, and St. Thomas.
This greatly boosted supply. The Hospitaller castle of Kolossi, in latin Cyprus was built by Jocques
de Milly in 1454 AD, at the center of a sugar producing estate, and next to a sugar factory. At
Kouklia a pair of refineries had water wheels to crush the cane. Kilns for boiling the liquid and
ceramic molds to crystallize the sugar into loaves/cones. Another factory survives at Episkopi
("Illustrated History of the Crusades"). Sugar producation was wide-spread on Cyprus and Sicily,
and these weren't even considered the best sources of sugar.
In the "Book of the Wares and Usages of Diverse Contries", an Italian writing in Ragusa in 1458 AD,
wrote, "How to know many Wares" where he says that "Rock Candy ought to be white, glistening,
coarse, dry, and clean. Loaf sugar ought to be white, dry, and a well compact paste, and it's powder
ought to be large and granulated." The quality of these marketed, powdered / granulated sugars
seems to have been described as what we can buy currently in our modern markets. "White, dry"
and "clean". The perception that all medieval sugar consisted of burnt black cones is a common
misapprehension brought on by the experience of those of us who have been part of the Early
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